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Altitude compensation has importance beyond just SSTO's. It can improve payload even for multistage rockets. For the Falcon 9 the payload can be increased by approx. 25%. However, the increase is especially marked for triple-cored rockets such as the Falcon Heavy and Delta IV Heavy, in the range of 40%. Moreover, there is an especial synergy when it is used in conjunction with cross-feed fueling for triple-cored rockets. This is because with cross-feed the center core stage spends a larger amount of time at high altitude and vacuum conditions. So the higher vacuum Isp has a greater effect in this case. Indeed, for triple-cored rockets, using both cross-feed and altitude compensation can double the payload: Altitude Compensation Improves Payload for All Launchers. http://exoscientist.blogspot.com/2016/01/altitude-compensation-improves-payload.html Then it is important to develop altitude compensation even if you don't believe in SSTO's. Ironically, though, once altitude compensation is developed, then it will be realized how valuable SSTO's are. Bob Clark

You heard of the Falcon 9 launch on December 21st, right? Mind blowing, Game changer, The launch that krakened off/wowed pretty much every rocket company on the planet, yeah, you know what I'm talking about, but did this launch put ULA out of business? I mean, SpaceX already had much cheaper launch costs than ULA ($2,500 lb), but once they perfect these vertical landings, they'll have MUCH cheaper launch costs, probably $900-1400 lbs, which is much cheaper than ULA's $10,000 lb. So what do you guys think about it?

I watched the rocket landing by SpaceX and got inspired to do something like that in KSP. Is there any mod that adds a landing pad near the coast of KSC which could fulfill that kind of request? Please don't suggest KerbinSide because it isn't what I am looking for. Thanks!

SPACE-X Falcon 9 has landed! A must see! http://www.space.com/31444-spacex-falcon-rocket-landing-epic-photos.html

Recreation of upcoming Orbcomm 2 mission with first stage recovery. Falcon 9 in a new “Full Thrust” configuration is expected to depart Cape Canaveral at 20:29 Eastern time (01:29 UTC on Tuesday). Music: Mini Solar System - Sheridan Tongue. MODS: Rocket -> Procedural Parts, Procedural Fairings Merlin engines -> StarShine Industries Landing gears, grid fins -> LazTek Payload -> AIES, Proc. parts NEBULA Decals with my own stickers RSS, RO, RVE, Scaterrer, Trajectories My planes for upcoming months are as following: -Constellation Mars Mission -Voyager 2 -more planes and spaceplanes in RSS

I've made a video about SpaceX's today's Orbcomm-2 mission. It is not 100% accurate but it provides a nice overview of the mission: @SQUAD Maybe something for video wednesday? :)))

I've always been bothered by how the scale in KSP is all sorts of wacky, so I have started work on a mod that remodels and retextures the 3.75m parts to resemble the SpaceX Falcon 9, with the old models for the 3.75m parts being used for new 5m SLS parts. Is this a good idea? or should I stop work on it?

Mother of god. Leak/rumor from the NSF L2 forum.

Which Heavy lift rocket is Better/Cooler in your opinion, and why? Now lets have a healthy discussion about heavy lift rockets . By the way, The reason SLS, Delta Heavy, (Or other heavy lift vehicle) Isn't here, is because I wanted to just talk about two really cool rockets that are launching in the near future .

This thread is a split from this thread (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/93907-CCiCap-was-announced-SpaceX-and-Boeing-were-selected/) that is just to discuss the SNC challenge to the CCtCap Program and its implications and effects. Starting off with some new news... http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1410/01cctcapprotest/#.VCzrZ_ldWSo so Nibb and Kryten you were right, it will delay the program the only loophole suggested by that article is which is more a loophole that SpaceX is more likely to take than Boeing Also the OFFICIAL GAO dockett link is http://www.gao.gov/docket/B-410485.1 The Attorney is Eric M. Ransom

It's happening. We've been waiting for this event for years now, and soon everyone (along with SpaceX, Boeing, & Sierra Nevada) will know who will be flying the first U.S. astronauts from U.S. soil since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011, on-board USCV-1 to the ISS, tentatively scheduled to make its first flight in 2017. Live Updates: [4:08 PM 16 September] BOEING AND SPACEX ARE THE WINNERS! [9:10AM 16 September] Lurio, you must be relieved! Stephen Clark via Twitter: "NASA: "Major announcement today about astronaut transport to the International Space Station." 4pm presser at KSC. Buckle your seat belts." [12:41AM 16 September]: Andy Pasztor has published another article on the WSJ, titled: "Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos's Startup Is Part of Bid to Deliver Astronauts". Read the full article here. [9:16 PM EST]: Mr. Lurio to the rescue again... "Latest from elsewhere: WSJ/Pastor item is wrong. Conclusion: We won't know it til we know it, so take stress tab of your choice.". Jeff Foust has also retweeted this. [9:14 PM EST]: Cnet is regurgitating Wall Street Journal's claims that Boeing is to win one of the spots in an article titled: "Boeing said to win NASA space taxi contract". Everyone should be aware that this is complete speculation. There is no evidence to support any of this information. [3:31PM]: "Yet another item: Supposedly someone saw a poster just delivered KSC re CCtCap - included SNC/SpaceX, not Boeing. But I advise caution." Link to Tweet. [3:27PM]: Charles A. Lurio again... "This just in from another re CCtCap: Award tomorrow between 10-11am EDT." [3:06PM]: Charles A. Lurio on Twitter advising that companies will be informed of CCtCap results tomorrow morning, with public announcements following shortly after! All times are in EST BackgroundWith the Retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA had to pay the Russians for seats on the Soyuz to ferry Astronauts to the ISS. NASA did not like this and started 2 different competitions to resupply and recrew the station. They are known as CCDev and CCtCap respectively. CCDev was the easier of the two and 2 companies made designs and won contracts, SpaceX with the Dragon and Orbital Sciences with Cygnus. The original idea was for CCDev to be a stepping stone for CCtCap, but it did not work out. CCtCap is Commercial Crew. in the beginning there were 5 designs with 4 capsules. They were SpaceX with the Dragon on a Falcon 9, Sierra Nevada Corp with DreamChaser on Atlas 5, Boeing with CST100 on Atlas 5, Blue Origin with New Sheppard on Undecided, and ATK with a CST100 on Liberty (think Aires 1). After the first round money was awarded to Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corp to continue developing their designs. Boeing got the most money, followed by SpaceX and then SNC. Instead of a lump sum, the awards are parsed out based on milestones. This announcement is the end of the second phase. At this point, NASA has the money for 1.5 Contracts and this announcement is for who gets the big contract to actually carry astronauts to the ISS. Current Speculation is that Boeing has the strongest case because they have completed 100% of their milestones, with SpaceX in second with something like 80%. The main difference is that SpaceX has proven technology that has flown in the last decade, last time a Boeing Capsule flew was the apollo capsule. Tomorrow is the BIG day when the three lean whether or not they will get money to continue building their craft. SpaceX has already said that if they do not get selected they will continue to build the Dragon V2, it will just take longer. AFAIK there has been no announcements from SNC or Boeing on what happens if they do not get selected. for more info on the designs CST 100 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CST-100 Dragon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_V2 DreamChaser http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Chaser also reddit is a great place for more info and is where I am getting the updates from https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/2gi43x/rspacex_nasa_cctcap_downselect_official/

THIS MOD WILL BE CONTINUED BY DAMONVV OVER HERE

Delta Pack Adds the Delta II, III and IV rockets into the game, featuring highly detailed models & textures. (No, this is NOT the official ULA mod pack! I do not have any affiliation with them, I've released my work on my own since otherwise you would never get your hands on this.) Overview of the parts included: RS-27A, RS-68A, RL10-B2, AJ-10-118K, LR-101 GEM-40, GEM-46, GEM-60,GEM-63, GEM-63XL, Star 48B SRM's 4m DCSS (2 colour shemes), 5m DCSS, Common Booster Core, Thor Tank, Delta K, Extra Extended Long Thor Tank various Payload Fairings A wide range of different payload adapters based Note: These launch vehicles are scaled down to fit the Kerbal universe, Delta II has a diameter of 1.5m, Delta III of 2.5m and Delta IV of 3m. A seperate manual is also included in the .zip file. Real Solar System / Realism Overhaul configs are made by @raidernick and are included in the upcoming RO patch. More pictures: https://imgur.com/a/MHVdhPr DOWNLOAD v.1.0 FROM SPACEDOCK All rights reserved - Kartoffelkuchen Logos used are owned by United Launch Alliance Important note: I do not want to make any profit off of my work, so I always appreciate some nice comments if you like it! Enjoy! Great review by KottabosGames SpaceX Pack Due to its size and popularity, the SpaceX Pack has been split into its own thread. You can find it here. Atlas Pack Includes: Atlas V Rocket 400 & 500 series (3 Payload fairings for each version) Centaur with RL-10 Payload interfaces (C13, C15, C22, C25, C29, A937S, B1194) http://imgur.com/a/3qlH3 Requires Old School Fairings , BD Animation Module Recommended Editor Extensions KSP Version 1.1.3 Version 2.0 (Released September 9 2016) Download SpaceDock Realism Overhaul configs are included in the RO mod Real Plume config provided by @Hysterrics , downloadable here License All rights reserved